Truck.



, F. 0. SGHERPING.

TRUCK. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1908.

903,8901 4 Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

WITNESSES: W a INVENTOR W7 i M ATTORNEY FRANK O. SGHERPING, OF SAGINAW,MICHIGAN.

TRUCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

Application filed June 8, 1908. Serial No. 437,388.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK C. SCHERPING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trucks; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to trucks and more particularly to that class oftrucks designed for moving heavy machinery or other loads from place toplace.

One object of my invention is to provide a low truck which has a minimumof space between it and the floor or ground, whereby to reduce theheight to which a heavy machine or box must be lifted in order to insertthe truck therebeneath.

Another object is the provision of a tilting truck supported upon twoseparate rollers set intermediate its ends, the truck havingone endbeveled at such an angle as to frictionally engage the floor throughoutits length when the truck is tilted.

A further object is the provision of a broad flat truck whose uppersurface is plane, even and smooth.

To these ends therefore, my invention consists in certain novel featuresand combinations such as will be more fully described hereinafter andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing myinvention in tilted position ready to take on a load and Fig. 2 is asimilar view showing the bottom of the truck.

It is customary when a heavy piece of machinery or other article is tobe moved, to mount the machine on planks and provide a number of pipelengths or rolls which are inserted beneath the planks, the machine andplanks being pushed along and the rolls as they are left behind, pickedup and placed in the path of travel of the machine. This is not only avery' slow and laborious proceeding but it also mars the floor surface,

and requires the services of several men because of the frictionalcontact of the several rolls and the floor. Furthermore, it is a ratherdifficult matter to make a turn or corner by this prehistoric method oftransportation, when moving a machine weighing four tons for instance.To avoid the many disadvantages inherent to this method oftransportation, I havedevised a truck or lorry so called, comprising aplurality of longitudinally extending beams arranged parallel with eachother as shown. The beams 1, 1 constitute the sides of the truck and thebeam 2, what I shall term the back bone thereof.

The upper faces of the longitudinally extending beams are mortised toreceive the cross bars 3, 3, the upper faces of which lie flush with theupper faces of the beams so that the surface of the truck is fiat andeven. Preferably I make the truck of hard wood, the fiat upper surfacebeing smooth so as to permit heavy articles to slide off by gravity whenthe truck is tilted. The beams and cross-pieces constitute the bodyportion of the truck.

I journal a pair of rolls 4, 4, in alinement with each other, on theunder faces of and between the sides and backbone of the truckrespectively. These rolls are separate from each other and are locatedintermediate the ends of the truck between the two adjacentcross-pieces, so that the peripheries of the rolls project above theplane of the bottom of the truck. By using but two rolls I can turn thetruck easily and without loss of time, the truck being balanced relativeto the rolls and as the truck is turned, the two rolls rotate inopposite directions.

The under faces of the sides and backbone are beveled or cut away attheir ends as at 5 and the angle of such bevel is so arranged that whenthe truck is tilted to receiving position, as in F ig. l the full bevelrests squarely 011 the floor or ground, forming ,what I shall call adead end. The ad vantages of such dead end combined with the smoothupper surface is that one end of a heavy machine can be raisedsufficiently to permit the tilted dead end to be inserted therebeneathwhereupon the machine or other article can be pushed onto the truckbecause its weight is always bearing down upon the beveled faces whichrest upon the floor and because of the frictional contact prevent thetruck from sliding forward as the machine is pushed onto it.

A single, swiveled caster 6 is secured to the beveled face of thecentrally located backbone at one end. Such caster is broad so as toride over inequalities in the floor or ground and is located on thebeveled face in order to retain the truck as close to the ground aspossible.

In operation, the load is raised sufiiciently to permit the dead end tobe inserted there- 5 under after which the load is lowered upontransport heavy articles.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim as new is 1. Atilting truck comprising a body portion having a fiat smooth uppersurface, a

' pair of alined rolls journaled on the under face of the body portion,the body portion being balanced on the rolls, the under face at one endbeing beveled at an angle so that when the truck is tilted, the beveledface will lie horizontal with and engage the support, the opposite endof the under face of the body portion being beveled and a caster securedto the last named beveled surface.

2. A tilting truck comprising a body portion composed of longitudinallyextending sides and a central member parallel therewith, cross-piecesspaced apart from each other and mortised into the upper faces of thelongitudinally extending sides and central member, to provide a smoothfiat upper surface, a roll, the ends of which are journaled in one sideand the central member respectively, a second roll, the ends of whichare similarly journaled in the remaining side and the central member,the rolls lying in alinement with each other, the under faces of thesides and central member at one end being beveled at such an angle thatwhen the truck is tilted the beveled surfaces will rest squarely on thefloor, the under face of the central member at its opposite end beingbeveled and a caster secured to the last named beveled face.

3. A tilting truck comprising a body portion having a smooth fiat, uppersurface, a single pair of alined rolls journaled on the under face ofthe truck intermediate its ends, the under face at one end of the truckbeing beveled, to engage the floor surface, and a caster secured to theopposite end of the truck, the caster and rolls located in triangularrelation with each other.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK C. SCHERPING. lVitnesses Mrs. F. O. SCHERIING, RALPH S. VARFIELD.

